We were promised “special guests” for Elton John‘s final North American show, which is taking place November 20 at Dodger Stadium and being livestreamed on Disney+. Well, we’re getting them.
Dua Lipa, Brandi Carlile and Kiki Dee have all been announced as guests for the performance. Dua was, of course, Elton’s duet partner on their global hit “Cold Heart.” Brandi is a good friend of Elton’s and appears on his most recent album, The Lockdown Sessions. British singer Kiki Dee was Elton’s duet partner for his 1976 number-one hit “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”
A new trailer has also been released for the November 20 show. It starts at 11 p.m. ET on Disney+ and will be preceded by Countdown to Elton Live, featuring interviews with Elton and his husband/manager, David Furnish, as well as fan messages and footage from Dodger Stadium.
A watch Elvis Presley owned, a piano that Bob Dylan played, and the guitar Don McLean used to compose “Vincent” were among the big winners at Julien’s Auctions’ “Icons and Idols: Rock ‘N’ Roll” auction over the weekend.
The King’s gold-and-diamond watch went for $256,000, while the piano on which Bob Dylan composed songs for his 1969 album, Nashville Skyline, went for $217,600. An abstract nude that Dylan painted sold for $100,000, five times its original estimate. McLean’s 1969 Martin 00-21 acoustic guitar sold for $156,250.
A stage-played guitar from Paul McCartney went for $76,800. The guitar, painted the colors of the Ukrainian flag, was part of the Gibson Gives initiative, with all proceeds going to provide relief for Ukraine.
Meanwhile, a pair of John Lennon‘s “Granny” glasses went for $162,500; Prince‘s blue 1992 Kurt Nelson Cloud electric guitar sold for $192,000; a bass The Who‘s John Entwistle played in the 1975 movie Tommy went for $81,250, and a bassthat Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revival used sold for $93,750.
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will soon kick off their first tour in six years, and it’s no wonder fans are clamoring for tickets: Springsteen says he tries to play each show like it’s the first time he’s ever performed.
Appearing on the Questlove Supreme podcast, Bruce explains, “My band have been together for 50 years. So we’ve got a lot of history and we’ve got a lot of experience. And on the last tour, we played 200 songs … 200 different songs.” He adds, “Usually, once the tour gets rolling, the show is regularly different on a night-to-night basis.”
Springsteen says he maps out what songs he wants to play before every concert and then tells the band to “refresh” themselves on his choices, “because we might play it tonight.”
Then the rehearsals start. “We don’t just play 3 1/2 hours a night. We’re there [at the venue] in the afternoon,” he explains, noting that sound checks can sometimes last for two hours to give the band enough time to ensure any deep cuts he’s chosen sound just as good as his set list staples.
“It’s just fun,” he exclaims. “Surprising that audience here and there, it’s fun to do. It’s wonderful.”
As he puts it, “It remains an honor to play for our audience. And that’s the way that I approach it. And that’s what I insist from the band on a nightly basis. You come out, your name is on the line every single night — I don’t care how long you’ve been doing it. You have an opportunity to impact somebody’s life tonight.”
The Boss ended the interview with a mic-drop moment, declaring, “Every night is somebody’s first night. I want to play like it’s my first night.”
Slash, Paul McCartney, Queen‘s Brian May, Rush‘s Alex Lifeson, The Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards and Ron Wood,and Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale are just some of the artists who are helping raise money for the Ukraine war relief effort this weekend.
Gibson created several limited-edition “Guitars for Peace” Les Paul custom guitars in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag. They sent those guitars on tour with the various artists this summer, along with autograph books.
Through November 13, the guitars and the autograph books — which were also signed by artists and bands like Mark Knopfler, My Chemical Romance, Nile Rodgers and Madness — are being auctioned off by Juliens Auctions. Visit JuliensAuctions.com and navigate to their Icons & Idols: Rock ‘N’ Roll auction page for all the details.
Bidding on one of the guitars played onstage by Slash was up to $12,600 the last time we checked, while one played onstage by McCartney is at $22,500. One that’s signed by several of the artists — including Richards, Wood and May — comes with an autograph book with all the artists’ signatures. Bidding on that one is up to $9,000. Don’t want a guitar? You can bid on just an autograph book starting as low as $500.
One hundred percent of the money raised from the auction will go toward humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine and the rebuilding efforts once the conflict ends.
“I’m happy to auction this beautiful guitar of mine to benefit the fine people of Ukraine,” says McCartney in a statement. “Hopefully it will help them through this aggressive Russian invasion.”
Fifty years ago this month, WAR’s classic album The World Is a Ghetto was released, hitting number one on the Billboard chart and going on to become the bestselling album of 1973. Now there’s a whole new way to listen to it.
Avenue/Rhino has released a new Dolby Atmos mix of the album, which features the top-10 title track and the number-two hit “Cisco Kid.” The World Is a Ghetto was WAR’s fifth album. The band was first formed in the late ’60s by ex-Animals frontman Eric Burdon and producer/songwriter Jerry Goldstein.
The set, limited to 5,500, includes both albums Burdon and the band made together: Eric Burdon Declares War and the two-LP set The Black-Man’s Burdon, plus Love Is All Around, a 1976 collection of songs Burdon recorded with WAR but didn’t put on their albums. This marks the first time the albums are being released on vinyl since the ’70s. “Spill the Wine” and “They Can’t Take Away Our Music” are the best-known tracks on those albums.
This week Paul McCartney announced the release of The 7″ Singles Box, which collects 80 7-inch vinyl singles — packaged in a wooden crate. It also comes with a forward Paul wrote about his love of singles. Rolling Stone has an exclusive excerpt, in which he discusses the “adventure” of discovering reggae music in Jamaica.
“Some of my happiest memories of buying 7-inch singles come from the Jamaican record shop that we used to go to when we were on holiday in Montego Bay … There were records [that] you didn’t know what they were, they weren’t established artists,” he calls. “So it was kind of a great adventure, just asking the guy behind the counter, ‘What’s this like? Is it any good?'”
He recalls one in particular called “Poison Pressure” by Byron Lee and The Dragonaires, which was credited to Lennon & McCartney. He writes, “I had to buy that one. Had they just recorded one of our songs? No. It was something completely different and we all presumed it might be a couple of guys called Tony Lennon and Bill McCartney. Either that, or it was a total scam.”
Or not. It turns out the song is based on the melody of Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance,” which explains the credit. Paul also writes about how much The Beatles loved to put weird and wacky stuff on their B-sides, and he continued that tradition in his solo career.
“I still respect the B side – where else can you find songs like ‘You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)‘ or ‘Ode to a Koala Bear‘?” he writes. “So, when my team suggested we put out this box of 45s, one of my hopes was that both sides of the record will be of interest to you.”
The Beach Boys have released another advance track from their upcoming box set Sail On Sailor – 1972, available on December 2.
This time, it’s a previously unheard a cappella version of “All This Is That,” which features just the vocals of Al Jardine, Carl Wilson and Mike Love — who also co-wrote the track.
“All This Is That,” inspired by the Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken” and by the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, originally appeared on the 1972 album Carl and the Passions – “So Tough.”
As previously reported, Sail On Sailor – 1972 examines the transformative period in The Beach Boys’ history during which they released that year’s Carl and the Passions and 1973’s Holland. It’s available in several configurations, including a six-CD Super Deluxe Edition that includes an entire unreleased live concert recorded at Carnegie Hall on Thanksgiving 1972.
Out of the 105 tracks in the package, 80 are previously unreleased and include rarities like unreleased outtakes, live recordings, radio promos, alternate versions, alternate mixes, isolated backing tracks and a cappella versions.
Prog-rock fans, your ship has come in: Cruise to the Edge is returning for 2024.
The cruise sets sail March 8, 2024, from Miami, Florida, aboard the Norwegian Pearl. It visits Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and George Town, Grand Cayman, before returning to Miami on March 13.
The lineup includes ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, ex-King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew, ex-Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre, Queensrÿche, Marillion, Big Big Train and Flying Colors. Visit CruisetotheEdge.com to see the full lineup.
Starting November 15, fans who sailed on the 2022 edition of the tour can reserve a cabin on this year’s cruise. Anyone who’s ever done a Cruise to the Edge trip can book starting November 17; booking is open to the general public starting November 21.
Belew, Marillion and Barre were also part of the 2022 edition of Cruise to the Edge; the lineup for that sailing also included Alan Parsons, Saga, Al DiMeola and Al Stewart.
Bruce Springsteen‘s album of soul and R&B cover songs, Only the Strong Survive, has arrived. It’s The Boss’ third album in four years, following 2019’s Western Stars and 2020’s Letter to You.
As previously reported, the 15-track album features Springsteen delivering his takes on songs made famous by The Commodores, The Four Tops, Jerry Butler, Jimmy Ruffin, Ben E. King, The Temptations, The Supremes and more. It features guest vocals by Sam Moore of Sam & Dave, who also sang on Bruce’s 1992 album, Human Touch.
A full band performance video of the song “Turn Back the Hands of Time” — originally recorded in 1970 by Tyrone Davis — is now available to watch on YouTube.
Next week, Bruce will stage a Tonight Show takeover, appearing on Jimmy Fallon‘s show November 14, 15 and 16. He’ll then return Thanksgiving night, November 24.
Guitar: Courtesy Hard Rock International; Gibbons: Blain Clausen
November 27 would’ve been Jimi Hendrix‘s 80th birthday, and the milestone is being celebrated with a bunch of special events honoring the late guitar legend.
Next Thursday, November 17, ZZ Top‘s Billy Gibbons will sit in with the band on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! and play the actual Gibson Flying V guitar that Hendrix used on his 1970 tour, including his appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival in England. The guitar, part of the Hard Rock International’s collection, is being transported from London just for the show.
As a member of his pre-ZZ Top band, The Moving Sidewalks, Gibbons shared concert bills with the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the two became friends. Gibbons was side stage for the Experience’s April 26, 1969, LA show and wrote about it for the liner notes of the album documenting that show: Jimi Hendrix Experience – Los Angeles Forum April 26, 1969, due out on November 18.
Also on November 17, a reception for Janie Hendrix and James McDermott, authors of the new book JIMI, is being held at LA’s Mr. Musichead Gallery. Following his Kimmel appearance, Gibbons will head over there to sign copies of his liner notes. Tickets for the reception are on sale now.
Finally, a Jimi Hendrix birthday concert event will take place December 4 at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. Participants include Band of Gypsys and Jimi Hendrix Experience member Billy Cox, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas, Zakk Wylde, Dweezil Zappa, Eric Johnson, and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble’s Doyle Bramhall II and Chris Layton.
And as if all that weren’t enough, you can now watch a video about how Hendrix revolutionized concerts and touring on the official Hendrix YouTube channel.
